Olympian Allyson Felix, the most decorated athlete in the world, is making waves off the track and tackling the shoe industry, using her platform to shine light on expectant mothers and maternal health.
Felix and her brand Saysh, created an opportunity for mothers-to-be and their ever changing bodies. The new Saysh Maternity Returns Policy is pretty straight forward: If you purchase a pair of Saysh Ones and your feet change size due to pregnancy, they’ll send you a new pair.
During pregnancy a woman can experience changes in her mental, emotional and physical states. Most experience spreading of the nose, feet and every body part in-between. Felix shared that during her pregnancy, her feet grew and she couldn’t get a brand on board with her personal struggle.
Just after 32 weeks in her pregnancy journey, she developed severe preeclampsia - a potentially life-threatening pregnancy related complication. Felix has been open with her struggles and how doctors had to act quickly to save her and her daughters lives.
Preeclampsia can cause high blood pressure, high levels of protein in the urine that indicate kidney damage and other types of organ damage. As many as 50,000 women experience preeclampsia and more than 700 women die from it each year in the U.S.
Felix has since become an advocate for improved women’s and maternal health.
On her Instagram, Felix shares that she’s running one last race to make the world a better place. With her new venture, Felix hopes to continue to shed light on maternal health and issues.
“As a runner, I have to pay attention to every little change in my body, and I went through a lot of change during pregnancy. I didn’t even realize that my feet could grow that much. I was tired of begging brands to meet me where I was, as both an athlete and a mother, and I was tired of sacrificing comfort and style. So I decided to make my own rules.” said Felix to GMA.
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